He was the Louisiana State Representative for District 101 (Orleans Parish) from 2000 to 2011.[1] Having been first elected shortly after his 27th birthday, at the time he took office he became one of the youngest legislators ever to serve in Louisiana. He served as the Chairman of the Committee on Judiciary and a member of the Ways and Means, House Executive, and Legislative Audit Advisory committees.[4]

In an across-the-aisle gesture which was rare in Congress at the time, Richmond in 2014 defended his Republican colleague Vance McAllister, who had become embroiled in an alleged adultery scandal. Richmond associated the controversy with "gotcha moments" in which the "two parties in this country have gone overboard...and taken joy in the pain of their supposed opponents".[5]

Richmond came in third place in the seven-candidate primary election for the Democratic nomination for Louisiana's 2nd congressional district, behind U.S. Representative William J. Jefferson and television newscaster Helena Moreno. During a primary debate, Richmond attempted to discredit Moreno with accusations of drug use, while she attempted to attack his personal integrity by bringing up his disqualification from the 2005 New Orleans City Council "D" District election.[7] Later in 2008, Richmond's law license was suspended for 6 months by the State Supreme Court in a 5–2 decision after it was found that he falsified a sworn statement claiming greater than 2 years residency in New Orleans' "D" District in order to be eligible for the district's City Council position.[8]

Richmond was the first candidate in the 2010 elections to have President Barack Obama appear in a television ad on his behalf.[9]

Most pundits reckoned Richmond as a heavy favorite to retake the seat for the Democrats, even in what was forecast to be a Republican year nationally. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D+25, the 2nd was far and away the most Democratic district in the country to be represented by a Republican. The next most Democratic district on that list, Delaware's At-large congressional district, had a PVI of D+7. In 2008 Obama had carried the 2nd with a 74 percent of the vote, his fifth-best performance in a Southern district and his 35th best nationally.